Heating unit for pipes



March 8, 1949. J, u R c Q 2,464,052

HEATING UNIT FOR PIPES Filed Jan. 13, 1947 IN VEN TOR. BY JJH/y NUMR/CHPatented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEATING UNIT FOR PIPESJohn Numrich, New York, N. Y.

Application January 13, 1947, Serial No. 721,756

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in means forpreventing the formation of ice in pipes especially in drain pipesleading from the eaves of a house to the ground, to a soil pipe, orother outlet.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple, compact, durable,economical, easily assembled unit which can be associated with theelement to be ole-iced Whether it be a pipe, a tank, or any otherelement with which the de-icer can be used.

A further object is to provide a device which can be adapted for usewith any length of element to be de-iced and can be quickly and easilyinstalled.

A still further object is to provide a device in which the heatingeffect can be kept within predetermined bounds automatically and inwhich the device can be installed without the use of any appreciablenumber of extra parts.

Further and more specific objects, features, and advantages will moreclearly appear from a consideration of the specification hereinafter setforth especially when taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswhich illustrate a present preferred form which the invention may assumeand which form part of the specification.

In brief and general terms the invention includes a series of sectionsof pipe, in each section of which are embedded heating coils, preferablyin parallel, these sections capable of being plugged together to make aheating unit as long as desired. This length of heating unit ispreferably disposed within or closely adjacent the element to bede-iced. In the drawings it is shown as within a drain pipe of a house,although it is to be understood that this is but one of many ways inwhich it can be used.

The heating unit is connected to any suitable source of currentpreferably within the house, and an extra heating coil in the form of afiat band of material, housing a heating coil, may be wrapped around theelement to be de-iced, such as a pipe.

As later described, the device lends itself to application with existingparts and appliances without requiring any major change in them for thepurpose of installing it therewith.

In previous attempts to provide de-icing devices, they have beendesigned for special locations and in connection with specialconstructions and this has limited their Wide application to otherlocations. This invention is of such universal nature and constructionthat it lends itself to association with and application to any locationand almost any sort of element to be de-iced, such as water pipes, drainpipes, water or other tanks, refrigerators, ship tanks, airplanes,radiators, neon light signs, and for railroads in many adaptations.

The present preferred form of the invention is shown, in one applicationthereof, in the drawings, of which:

Fig. i is a partial vertical section of a house showing the invention asa de-icer for the drain pipe from the eaves.

Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of the heating units.

Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal section through ends of adjacentheating sections.

Fig. 4 is a partial section through the drain pipe within the house,showing the manner in which the heating unit wires are led out to beconnected to a source of current.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a heating unit to be wrapped around anelement such as a pipe.

Fig. 6 is a partial perspective view of the heating unit shown in Fig.5.

Referring now merely to the construction and operation of the form ofthe invention shown herein, it is seen that there is a house structureif}, having eaves II from which depends a drain pipe I2 leading to astand pipe l3 in the ground, which in turn is connected to a pipe l4within the house leading to the sewer mains. It is evident and wellknown that this drain pipe and the connected pipes in very cold weathermay be clogged up with ice, and the intention of this invention is toprevent this action. To this end, it is proposed to support, within thedrain pipe and related pipes, a heating unit which is Preferablydisposed centrally within said pipes and is supported therein in anysuitable manner (not shown). This heating unit comprises a series,preferably, of readily connectable sections such as are shown in Fig. 3,and each section is comprised as follows:

An outer tube of material such as copper or aluminum IS, an innerfilling of asbestos I6 in which is embedded in any desired mannerheating wires l1 preferably of Nichrome, in the forms of coils, asshown. As shown in Fig. 3, the lower end of one section is provided witha porcelain plug l8 having a projecting lug 19 which is adapted in thewell-known manner to coact with a socket 20 in another porcelain plug 2|disposed in the adjacent end of the next section so that the twosections are connected merely by forcing them together whereupon themechanical union is effected and the electrical connections between theheating wires as well. From Fig. 2, it is seen that the wires areconnected in parallel across lead wires such as 22. In a manner commonin electric light bulbs and sockets, these lead Wires are connected bymerely plugging one section into the other. It will be noted that thelower plug 25 has a projecting portion 23 around the socket 231i, whichprojection fits snugly into the lower end of the adjacent aluminum orcopper pipe is, so that the mechanical connection is made thus secure,snug, and waterproof.

It is clear that as many sections can thus be joined as are required todispose the heating de icer along any length of element to be heatedwhether it is the drain pipe or any of the other elements above noted.

As shown in Fig. 4, the lower ends of the aluminum or copper tubes arebent around to pass through the stand pipe l3 and through the pipe it toa point therein where it is bent up through a cap 23 in the pipe It andthe cable 2d extending from the sections and containing the lead wiresis passed through the cap to be connected to a suitable plug 25 andconnected to a suitable source of electricity.

In addition to the form of heater just described, the form shown inFigs. 5 and 6 may be used either by itself or in conjunction therewith.This form is preferably made in band-like shapes such as is shown inFig. 6, and compris a shallow Umhaped band 2c of spring steel with twospaced layers of asbestos housed therein with an intermediate layer ofheating wire 28 formed in any desired shape especially in flat planeformation. The spring steel support for the insulation and the heatingwires will cause the element thus assembled to assume a curved shapeshown in Fig. 5, which is especially adaptable to be curved or Wrappedaround pipes, as shown in Fig. 1. A suitable cable 25 is connected tothe wires therein and has a plug 35] on its end to permit this form ofunit to be plugged into a source of current. This be used for thepurpose of heating the pipe i l inside the house or in any othersituation where the heating sections previously mentioned may not berequired to be in service.

In either form used, there may be provided a thermostat of any knownconstruction such as 3 l, shown in 2, which will enable the current inthe coils to be kept at a predetermined value dependent upon the heatproduced.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to apresent preferred form which the invention may assume, it is not to belimited to such details and forms since many changes and modificationsmay be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention in its broadest aspects. lence, it is desired to coverany and all forms and modifications of the invention which may comewithin the language or scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A heating unit which comprises detachably connected pipe sections,heating coils insulatingiy disposed in each section, an insulated plugin the end of one section having a body portion with a face disposed ata predetermined distance from of the pipe, and a projecting lugextending therefrom to the end of the pipe, an insulating socket elementdisposed the end of adjacent pipe section and having a body portionextending a predetermined distance "he of the pipe and having socketrec, rein to receive the proj lug of the ad acent section, the

-tion of the element fitg snugly wi the end of adjacent pipe sectionwhereb firm mechanical, and electrical connection thereby established.

JOHN NUMRICH.

REFERENCES CITED following references are of record in the file of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,642,197 Fowler Sept. 13, 19271,697,049 Appelberg Jan. 1, 1929 1,841,864 Weichelt Jan. 19, 19321,938,391 Harrower 1 Nov. 21, 1933 1,997,146 I-Iynes -1 Apr. 9, 19352,015,209 Whiteside Sept. 24, 1935 2,022,662 Geyser Dec. 3, 19352,111,251 Spilsbury Mar. 15, 1938 2,285,161 ights et al June 9, 19422,389,466 Stoffel Nov. 1945 OTHER REFERENCES H. & A. Mtg. 00., Inc,Plastics, November 19%, page 77.

